~POV: 3rd person~
After 10 minutes of pure agony for Ida
"Hatsume-san is out of the ring; Ida-kun passes to the second round…" (Hatsume)
"YOU TRICKED ME!" (Ida)
'RIP Ida' (Akira)
"We continue with the fifth match! He dominated the festival's last events with his extraordinary prowess, from the heroic branch, Uchiha Akira! Versus! Does something come out of her horns? Heroic branch Ashido Mina!"
A few moments earlier, when Ida was still struggling and Akira made his way to his match
"Midoriya, what do you think will happen? Akira trained you for the last two weeks so you would know what he will do" (Tokoyami)
Tokoyami asks Midoriya. He wants information about Akira because if he beats Yaoyorozu. Akira will be his next opponent, and he already knows that without information, his loss is inevitable.
"So this is the reason for your rapid progress, Deku." (Bakugo)
The others were surprised that Akira actually trained him for the whole two weeks
"Yes, he helped me master my quirk. He also taught me some physical techniques and some martial arts." (Izuku)
"That makes sense after witnessing your performances. I'm worried about Mina-chan thought Ribbit…" (Tsuyu)
the other girls agreed with her statement
"You don't have to worry about it; he will go easy and won't hurt her. Even if he does, he will heal her." (Izuku)
"Tsk… Victory without being serious has no value!" (Bakugo)
The others share similar feelings. Everyone was doing their best during the festival, after all.
"Here is the hardest part to hear. He was never serious. Be it here or in Heroic class. He is just that much stronger. Even among the teachers or anyone else, no one has ever seen him fighting seriously, let alone at full power. Still, he does train every day as a morning routine." (Izuku)
"Even in your training with him?" (Ojiro)
"Yes… Akira-san wasn't going easy on me, but never took me seriously. Even with my new technique of using 4% of my power and reinforcing my body, his pure physical abilities are still higher." (Izuku)
"Even reinforcing your body wasn't enough against his pure physical strength?" (Jiro)
"Then how strong do you think he is?" (Yaoyorozu)
"Hard to say. From what I have seen, his pure physical abilities are greater than Shoji-san's. He can still reinforce his body with his chakra. As far as I know, he can manipulate fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. His Sharingan is fueled with chakra and gives him enhanced perception abilities. He can see at extreme speed and with near-absolute precision. With this, he can see even the smallest muscle tension, allowing him to predict and anticipate his opponent's next moves before they even start it. With his sensory abilities, he can feel the activation and usage of quirks and people's locations, giving him almost no blind spots. But all of this is not his most problematic aspect." (Izuku)
"Even after all of this, it isn't the end?" (Kaminari)
"Indeed, his most powerful trait is… his body." (Izuku)
"His body?" (Kirishima)
Izuku's other classmates are also confused by his answer
"His body is his biggest asset. One day, he was doing something with his scrolls and used his blood to do something. So he cut his finger a little and applied his blood, but the next second his wound vanished." (Izuku)
"Don't tell me…" (Mineta)
"Yes… His body regenerates." (Izuku)
"This is insane… Is he like the big guy from the USJ?" (Kaminari)
"No… after seeing his wound regenerates, I asked him about it. He said that the differences between Nomu and him is that, Nomu's regeneration is a quirk while his isn't." (Izuku)
"This is confusing, ribbit." (Tsuyu)
"He explained to me that his healing factor, or whatever he calls it, is purely inherent to his body. It is an aftereffect of his immense life force. You all know that by tearing muscle tissue, the muscle heals and becomes stronger. Thanks to his healing factor, he was able to train his body to its most extreme limits. This also allows him to constantly recover his stamina and chakra passively, even while fighting." (Izuku)
"Then how can you defeat such a monster!?" (Mineta)
"It's rude to call him a monster Mineta-san." (Yaoyorozu)
"But what else he can be?!" (Mineta)
"Mineta-kun don't say that in front of him, please; he doesn't take this kind of comment too well." (Izuku)
"Alright, alright, I got it." (Mineta)
"The only way to beat him is by knocking him unconscious in one attack. Since he can recover from nearly everything in moments, injuring, poisoning, and even attacking his senses with the likes of flash-bangs is useless." (Izuku)
back to the present
"the fifth duel Start!"
Mina produces PH-neutral acid under her feet to slide, but before she could move, Akira makes the ram hand seal.
'Suiton: Mizu Shibari' (Water Style: Water Binding)
A water stream appears out of thin air behind Akira, warping itself around Mina like a rope who now can't move and laid her outside the arena.
"Ashido-san is out of bound Uchiha-kun pass to the second round!" (Midnight)
At class 1-A seats
"That was quick…" (Kirishima)
"He didn't give her a chance to retaliate." (Tsuyu)
"That's humiliating for her." (Jiro)
"Akira-san probably thought that it was less humiliating to end it quickly than extend the match with such a massive gap in power and show the public Ashido-san struggling against an opponent she can't win against." (Izuku)
~POV Akira~
I return to my seat with my classmates.
"Couldn't you have done otherwise for her?" (Jiro)
"What should I have done? End it instantly, or just dodging her attacks for minutes in a match without suspense? I think that it was better for her image than showing her just powerlessly struggling for a long time." (Akira)
No one talked back to my argument, since it was useless. It depends on the individual vision.
"Next with sixth match. In attack and Defense, the Dark Samurai and his mount dark Shadow, from Heroic branch Tokoyami Fumikage, Versus, The one who can create everything, she proved that she earned her recommendation, Heroic Branch Yaoyorozu Momo!" (Mic)
"What do you two think about it?" (Ojiro)
Ojiro asks me and Izuku about the match
'Izuku is included now? He probably commented my match and shared what he knows about me. Just as expected.'
"The time will be the key here." (Izuku)
Izuku said
"That's one way to put it. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow are less enduring than Yaoyorozu. If you don't consider their respective weaknesses." (Akira)
Izuku looks at me nervously when I say that.
"Did you really think I wouldn't notice Dark Shadow's weaknesses? I know it isn't obvious… Normally, that is." (Akira)
"Sixth duel Start!"
The duel ended the same way as canon
"Yaoyorozu-san is out of bound! Tokoyami-kun pass to the second round!" (Midnight)
"That was a crushing victory. Dark Shadow is so impressive; is this the ultimate quirk?" (Present Mic)
'What is he talking about?'
"Tokoyami-kun is incredible, he pushed her out of the ring only bludgeoning her shield her." (Izuku)
"So Tokoyami was holding back? There is reason to be disappointed." (Ojiro)
"She could have won, though." (Akira)
"With this much difference in strength?" (Ojiro)
"It's not a matter of strength here." (Akira)
One minute before the last match of the first, Yaoyorozu came back to her seat right next to me with a self-cursing look on her face. Izuku ran off to see Uraraka in the waiting room; Ida was probably with them. Bakugo is also in his waiting room, and Todoroki is nowhere to be seen.
"Yaoyorozu, don't let this defeat crush your self-confidence." (Akira)
"But… I couldn't do anything."
'Sight…'
SMACK
I did a Karate chop on Yaoyorozu's head. My classmates around didn't expect that.
"Ouch! What was that for?" (Yaoyorozu)
"Don't start self-pity, will you? Don't let this little mistake get over you. You said you couldn't do anything, but if you had exploited Dark Shadow's weaknesses, you would have won this match."
It seems like my words are working.
"You think too much about your opponent. First, think about what you can do yourself. You possess one of the most versatile quirks around, and one of your greatest strengths is your quick-thinking ability. Don't compare yourself to me or Todoroki; our quirks are suited for pure combat. We can hardly do anything else, but you can be more than just a fight. Remember that I did vote for you for the class representative post because you have aptitudes for leadership. So don't doubt yourself so easily and look at your strength instead of comparing yourself to others."
"You are right; I apologize for having you worried about me." (Yaoyorozu)
'I'm not worried, but I need someone I can trust as a vice class rep. Since I'm far above the others power-wise, I can't really babysit them on a battlefield while taking care of the big fish.'
Yaoyorozu seems to regain some self-confidence; that's the first step.